Gathering Blue
by camlowe
Summary: Modern AU - Zuko thinks he is to blame, Katara acknowledges guilt; they both don't seek something calm, but they're gathering blue. Hiatus, info on profile.


**Gathering Blue  
>Author: <strong>CA Lowe  
><strong>World: <strong>AU - Modern  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>this is a work of fiction within a work of fiction.  
><strong>AN: **Zutara has always been my favorite ship, and I guess it was about time I started a fic for them. Of course, since I have no idea for a major plot line this is just going to be something sweet to read. Both Zuko and Katara are teens, but they're a year older than in the series. Just hope you like it.  
><strong>Beta'd?: <strong>Looking.

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><p><em>gathering blue.<em>

* * *

><p>Prologue.<p>

* * *

><p>The sky was bright and azure colored.<p>

She leisurely watched the clouds.

Her back was pressed against the cool early dew as she laid in the grass and simply regarded the drifting morning. Katara often wondered aimlessly in this little spot, this little secret away from home. It was a wonderful wonder once discovered at the age of eight. She had found a safe heaven, and since then she visited.

It was sweet, the taste of dawn. And so during the summer she always walked a mile to reach this spot in the morning, to watch the first hours swim by. The atmosphere held serenity, and nearby there was a river that was always blue. A soothing crystalline voice that wafted around her while the birds accompanied with their own songs. The grass was always tender to touch, and slightly wet with the kiss of day. This secret hideaway _had a very gentle touch._

It reminded her of her mother.

By her side her mobile starts vibrating and she knows it's time to go. The girl silently bids the river goodbye with a smile, and gazes at the sky with longing. It was peaceful. A simple day.

In a soft jog she leaves the azure blue sky and makes her way home. Her brother would be worried if she's not back by breakfast. So she hastens her pace and solemnly thinks that although she has left her secret behind, her day is still tranquility. It is beautifully sunny, and the warmth is welcomed on her wet shoulders. Her skin dries quickly. The wind whispers softly. She feels like running. So she does.

And it is marvelous.

She's smiling, her limbs stretching to their limits, painful and gratifying at the same time. Katara feels the urge to laugh. She's in a good mood. It is a wonderful day as she sprints free from the woods and into a meadow that overlooks her neighborhood. Ten grey houses with very little identity. The far one to the left she calls home.

As she slows her pace the long stalks of grass tickle her bare legs while she runs to her family. She feels laughter, and the wind blows softly, playfully urging her to keep running, to leap and to graze in the air with wings of her own.

But she doesn't have wings. She has legs.

And like a bird with cut feathers she stops before her house, hands on knees, breath on heart, and her eyes looking upwards, longing again.

Someday she would fly, too.

Katara pants and grins. _Yes, someday. _But now as she accommodates her shorts and is about to walk up the steps to her door there's a loud banging on Mr. Iroh's house and she wonders what's going on. Questioning eyes settle on the next house, and so she turns and heads towards were the old man lives. Such a considerate man with her family that she herself cares for him.

With a swift kick to her rhythm she walks up the steps and knocks once. However, this is where her day changes.

A brusque pull of the door reveals a startled teenager with long dark hair and angry golden eyes. He is ruffled and flushed, heated, with the hint of something undecipherable in his eyes.

"What?!" he asks, and his voice shows a fiercely rude edge that she doesn't like at all.

She narrows her eyes and stands up straighter, "Is something wrong?"

"_What?" _he asks again, and there's irritation in his tone.

"I heard a loud noise," she explains with annoyance at the boy, "so I came to check on Mr. Iroh."

"Zuko! Don't treat our lovely neighbor like that!" it's the echo of the man who is still not in view.

The golden eyes of the boy, Zuko, drift back inside the house as he looks over his shoulder, but his body blocks her view from the actual person she wants to see. Impatiently she shifts her stance. The boy glowers at Mr. Iroh before turning to her.

"You heard him. He's fine."

"Bu-"

But the words die in her lips as the door is slammed shut and there is no longer a fiery teen before her.

After the encounter she finds she is angry. And so, huffing, she crosses the street back to her own home, wondering how was it that such a perfect start to a day could turn for the worst.


End file.
